You can't help but like Tiergarten Park. One of the largest parks in the world, with an area of ​​210 hectares, located in the center of Berlin, with many monuments from different eras, is simply doomed to increased attention from tourists...

However, after many hours of walking around the Great Tiergarten, mixed feelings arise - admiration is adjacent to surprise and even bewilderment.

I want to say right away: it is beautiful, this huge modern descendant of the ancient German forest, stretching from the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate to the Berlin Zoo. With its countless alleys, canals, lakes, ponds, bridges, monuments and sculptural compositions, Tiergarten itself gives the impression of a kind of majestic green monument to German diligence, the love of Berliners for their city. But, as they say, you can’t erase a word from a song...

I'll start with the “official” oddities. Sculptural compositions, installed on the Fantasy Hall, we would call it a “military-patriotic theme.” There are four of them, and all of them, judging by the surroundings (clothing, weapons), date back to the period of the First World War. Heavily damaged, some figures are missing arms and even heads. There are no inscriptions on the pedestals, only bullet holes. There are no explanatory signs either. In Berlin, sculptures can be found literally everywhere, among them there are many real, highly artistic works of art, but there are also obscure avant-garde delights and outright kitsch, but there is always some kind of stand or sign nearby with information about the author and the date of installation.

It can be assumed that these sculptures, very interesting in their own way, were previously installed in some other places and appeared in Tiergarten not too long ago. But this is just my guess; an intensive search on Google using photographs upon returning from Berlin did not yield anything. There are photographs of the sculptures on the Internet, but without comments. Agree, strange “secrecy”.

Traces of the activity of “forest vandals”, who disfigure trees with inscriptions on the bark, can, unfortunately, be found in any part of the world and in any green area. Therefore, when I saw in Tiergarten, on the shore of a picturesque overgrown lake, a huge beech tree, covered with the autographs of certain “Hans”, “Bren” and others, I was upset, but not particularly surprised. I took a photo, but had no intention of publishing it.

The surprise came only later, at home, when I was preparing this article, looking at materials about Tiergarten on the Internet and came across an article by a certain Lucy Westphal. Judging by the fact that the article is written in German, she is a resident of Germany. Lucy wrote with delight about the Tiergarten and, in particular, said that on the bark of the trees there are carved... the lyrics to the song “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King! I didn’t believe it at first, but Lucy posted the photo. This, as they say, does not fit into any gates, even the Brandenburg ones... Moreover, all the trees in the park have been counted, each has an individual number and, they say, even a passport.

One of the oddities of the Tiergarten is that the park is quite neglected. And this fact seems strange because Germany in the minds of our compatriots is strongly associated with order and discipline. I must say that in Berlin during my stay there it was quite dirty on the streets. But such that in the park, the world famous Greater Tiergarten, there are beer bottles lying in the streams and floating plastic bags(which, by the way, is prohibited to use in Berlin, and they are not available in supermarkets), and in the thickets there were uncollected dead trees and heaps of cut dry branches - I did not expect it. I remembered the parks that I saw in others big cities: Moscow, Kyiv, Polish Gdansk, the comparison is clearly not in favor of Berlin.

This is all the more strange since I did not see a large influx of people walking in the Tiergarten. Although I spent almost the whole day there, besides, the day off was Sunday, and it was a terrible 35-degree heat in Berlin. Some places in the park, picturesque, with beautiful landscape architecture - bridges, fountains, on the contrary, surprised us with their desolation. And this is most likely not an accident, judging by the meager number of benches in the park.

The problem is probably not with the visitors; all these oddities and paradoxes are obviously not on their conscience. The entire infrastructure of the park is concentrated on the outer perimeter of the park, near large transport highways crossing the Tiergarten - 17 July Street, Gofergerallee and others, where cafes, restaurants, beer gardens are densely located, there are attractions and playgrounds, an aquarium, and a zoo. There were a lot of people there on the day of my visit, in some places there were even long queues. And in the shady cool alleys, a little further away, there are rare pedestrians and small flocks of cyclists. Also a paradox. The reason for all the oddities and paradoxes described above is a mystery to me. However, I recommend the Tiergarten park to everyone who visits Berlin. Despite everything.

The Tiergarten park was once a forest where wealthy city residents hunted or went horseback riding. This is the largest park in Berlin, its area is 210 hectares.

In the center of Tiergarten, on Big Star Square, there is a monument - the 67-meter Victory Column, which was installed here in honor of Prussian victories in several wars of the 1860s-70s. At the top of the column is a gilded statue of the goddess Victoria, and its base is decorated with battle scenes. At the Big Star Square, several of Berlin's main highways intersect and pass through the park.

Neat lawns coexist with natural vegetation and meadows, and restored sculptures of famous personalities, such as Goethe, Beethoven, Wagner, coexist with old dilapidated monuments.

One of the main attractions here is the Lutheran church - the Church of St. Matthew. It was there that Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who later participated in the anti-Nazi conspiracy, was ordained.

Tiergarten is also home to Bellevue Palace, where the residence of the German President is located. In the northeastern part of the park you can see unusual building The Congress Hall, which now houses the House of World Cultures.

In winter, an ice skating rink opens in the Tiergarten park.










How to get there: There are several metro stations near the entrances to the park. The closest ones are Bundestag, Potsdamer Platz and Hansaplatz. Next to the Victory Column in the center of the park is located bus stop Grosse Stern (100, 106, 187, N26).

The Greater Tiergarten is a large park area in the center of Berlin. The area of ​​the Greater Tiergarten is 210 hectares.

Note: Due to the similarity of names, confusion of concepts often occurs. There are the Greater Tiergarten (a park about which we're talking about), the administrative district of Berlin (called Tiergarten), the Little Tiergarten park and the Berlin Zoo (called Tierpark in German), located on the territory of the larger Tiergarten.

The Greater Tiergarten is today called green heart Berlin. This is one of the three largest parks in Germany. Both citizens and guests of the German capital like to spend their free time here. In the park you can walk along numerous paths, sunbathe on the lawns and have picnics.

Historically, for a long time this place was the hunting ground of the Brandenburg electors. To ensure a successful hunt for the highest officials of the state, wild animals were specially released here. A huge area of ​​the forest was fenced off so that animals could not run out of the territory where the hunt was taking place. This is where the name comes from - Tiergarten, literally translated from German, means “Animal Park”.

During the reign of the Prussian King Frederick I, several roads were built through the forest, connecting Berlin with the new Charlottenburg Palace and other territories. With the beginning of the reign of Frederick the Great, in the middle of the 18th century, who did not like hunting, the hunting grounds ceased to exist.

In 1742, Frederick the Great ordered his court architect Georg Wenzelaus von Knobelsdorff to build an amusement park for the people on the site of Tiergarten. Knobelsdorff removes barriers and lays out a park in the Baroque style - flower beds are organized, plants are planted in geometric proportions, artificial ponds and reservoirs are laid, sculptures, gazebos, fountains and benches are installed along the paths. At the same time, a Pheasant Farm was opened in Tiergarten for the entertainment of the public, from which the Berlin Zoo would later grow.

Since the end of the 18th century, changes have been taking place in park fashion - the Baroque is replacing the ideals of the English landscape park. Court gardeners Justus Ehrenreich Zello and Peter Joseph Lenne are decorating the Tiergarten in a new way. The swampy forest areas of the park are being drained, and paths for horseback riding and walking are being laid everywhere. Instead of flower beds, lawns and clearings appear, in ponds there are islands with numerous bridges leading to them, and a rose garden opens up. In this form, the Great Tiergarten existed without changes until the end of the 19th century.

At the end of the 19th century, in connection with new trends, numerous monuments were erected in the park - to Queen Louise and her husband Friedrich Wilhelm III, writers Goethe, Lessing, Fontana, composers Richard Wagner, Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn.

During Nazi Germany, the Tiergarten was included in the plan to rebuild Berlin into the "Germany Capital of the World". The Charlottenburg Highway (now 17 June Street) was widened by 15 meters, and the Victory Column was moved to the center of Tiergarten.

After the end of World War II, due to a shortage of coal, trees from the Tiergarten were used as fuel. Of the 200 thousand trees in the park, only 700 remained. Vegetable gardens were set up in the free areas.

Since 1961, the Tiergarten has been gradually restored. Reservoirs were cleaned, trees were planted, bridges, monuments and paths were repaired. After the reunification of Germany, in 1991, the Greater Tiergarten was placed under state protection as a monument of landscape art.

Interesting places in the Greater Tiergarten park

A day is not enough to see all corners of the park.

Berlin Zoo

On the territory of the Greater Tiergarten is the Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Berlin Zoological Garden or Tierpark). It covers an area of ​​35 hectares and is one of the largest zoos in Germany. The variety of species represented at the Berlin Zoo is amazing - approximately 15,000 animals of 1,500 species). The Berlin Zoo is one of the city's main attractions.

In 1945, the Memorial to Fallen Soviet Soldiers was erected in Tiergarten, in memory of Soviet soldiers who died in the battles of World War II. Main entrance The memorial is located on the side of the street on June 17th. Here are located two Soviet T-34 tanks, the first to enter the city in 1945, as well as two cannons that proclaimed the end of the Battle of Berlin with their salvos. The names of officers who fell in Berlin between April 14 and May 1, 1945, and who were awarded the title “Hero of the Soviet Union,” are engraved on two stone sarcophagi. On a pedestal in the center of a semicircle of columns there is a bronze statue of a Red Army soldier. More than 2,000 Soviet soldiers are buried here.

English garden

At the suggestion of the British commandant of Berlin, General Geoffrey Bourne, 5,000 trees, donated by King George VI of Great Britain, were planted in the Tiergarten destroyed by World War II. This southwestern part of the Tiergarten is called the English Garden. Now there is an interesting park area on an area of ​​40 hectares.

New Lake (Der Neue See)

The new lake is a large artificial reservoir. There are walking paths around it. There is a traditional cafe on the shore of the lake, this favorite place meetings in the Greater Tiergarten. On hot days summer days on Big Lake You can rent a boat and take a boat trip on the lake.

Victory Column

In the center of Tiergarten on Großer Stern Square there is the Victory Column. With her observation deck there is a beautiful view of the entire park and the city.

Bellevue Palace

Bellevue Palace, located on the banks of the Spree River in the northern part of Tierganten, was built in 1786 by the architect Michael Philipp Bowman as the summer residence of Prince August Ferdinand, the younger brother of the Prussian King Frederick II. Today it houses the residence and administration of the German Bundespresident.

Locks on the Landwehrkanal (Schleuse am Landwehrkanal)

The bridge allows you to cross the Landwehr Canal and watch ships pass through the locks. Right on the territory of the lock there is a popular restaurant called Schleusenkrug.

House of World Cultures

In the northeast of Tiergarten is the House of World Cultures (Haus der Kulturen der Welt). It is a center for contemporary non-European art. The House of World Cultures was founded in 1989 in the Congress Hall building. Exhibitions are held at the House of World Cultures visual arts, film screenings, music concerts, dance and theater performances by artists from various countries in Asia, Africa and South America.

Gaslamp Museum

The Gaslamp Museum is located in the west of the Greater Tiergarten. The lanterns collected here were made between 1826 and 1956 and previously illuminated 25 streets German cities and 11 cities in other European countries.

Carillon (Das Carillon)

The Great Tiergarten Carillon (bell tower) was installed in Tiergarten in 1985. With its 68 bells, it is the largest carillon in the world. The bell melodies span five and a half octaves.

Monuments in the Greater Tiergarten

In addition to historical sculptures, there are several small monuments installed in the Greater Tiergarten.

  • Not far from New Lake there is a memorial stele commemorating the murder of Karl Liebknecht.
  • On the path near the Liechtenstein bridge there is a monument to Rosa Luxemburg.
  • On the Tiergarten street there is a monument to the victims of the Nazi murders of people with disabilities (Gedenk- und Informationsort für die Opfer der nationalsozialistischen “Euthanasie”-Morde).
  • To the south of the Reichstag there are monuments to the victims of Nazism - gypsies, Jews, as well as people of non-traditional sexual orientation.

Operating mode

The Great Tiergarten park is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Entrance to the park is free.

The Grand Carillon gives concerts in the summer every Sunday at 15:00.

How to get there

The Tiergarten park is located in the very center of Berlin. It is convenient to get to it by any type of transport.

By public transport

You can get to the Greater Tiergarten by metro, tram, S-Bahn or bus.

From the zoo side

  • By U-Bahn: Metro line U5 to Tierpark station.
  • By tram: Routes M17, 27, 37 to the Tierpark stop.
  • By bus: routes 296, 396 to the Tierpark stop.

From the Palace (Schloss)

  • By tram: M17, 27, 37 to the Palace stop.
  • By bus: route 194 to the Palace stop.

From the side of the Victory Column

  • By metro (U-Bahn): line U9 to the Hanseplatz stop.
  • By bus: 100.187, 106, N26 to the Großer Stern stop.
  • By S-Bahn (S-Bahn): lines 1, 2, 25 to the Brandenburg Gate stop.
  • By metro (U-Bahn): U5 from main railway station(Hauptbahnhof).
  • By bus (Bus): M 41, M 85, TXL, 120, 123,147,240, 245) to the Brandenburg Gate stop.

By car

It is possible to park your car in the area of ​​the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Zoo or Victory Column.

At the Berlin Zoo there is a large parking lot at Am Tierpark 125. Tariff: 4 euros per entry, no time limit.

From the side of the Victory Column

Stadt Berlin - free parking for 27 spaces at the intersection of Klopstockstraße and Altonaer Straße, it is an 18-minute walk to the Victory Column.

Parking conditions:

  • two hours free parking every day around the clock,
  • except Friday from 8.00. until 20.00.

Lützow Center Berlin - parking in mall at: Lützowufer 26, Tiergarten.

Parking conditions:

  • Daily rate: Mon.-Sun. from 09.00. to 20.00: 30 min. - 0.50 euros, additional hour - 2.00 euros, maximum tariff - 16.00 euros.
  • Night rate: Mon. - Sun. from 20.00. until 09.00: 1 hour - 1.00 euros, additional hour - 0.50 euros, maximum rate - 3.00 euros.

From the Brandenburg Gate

Internationales Handelszentrum (IHZ) Surface multi-level parking with 494 spaces.

Opening hours: Mon.-Sun. — around the clock Address: Dorotheenstraße 30.

  • 1 hour - 2.00 euros,
  • 2 hours - 4.00 euros,
  • 3 hours - 5.50 euros,
  • 4 hours - 7.00 euros,
  • additional hour - 1.00 euros,
  • 24 hours - 15.00 euros,
  • 1 month - 100.00 euros.

Maritin Pro-arte Hotel. Surface parking for 120 spaces.

Opening hours: Mon. - Sun. - around the clock. Address: Friedrichstrasse 151.

  • 1 hour - 4.50 euros,
  • 24 hours - 28.00 euros.

By taxi

It is convenient to get to the Greater Tiergarten by Uber or Berlin Taxi.

Video about the Greater Tiergarten

Hello, friends. It's amazing how time sometimes transforms a place, changing its purpose and appearance. The Tiergarten park in Berlin was once a dense forest where the cream of society hunted and rode their thoroughbred horses. There were many wild animals here, which is how the name Tiergarten arose, which means “menagerie”.

Now the Greater Tiergarten or Großer Tiergarten is one of the largest parks in the world. It occupies approximately 210 hectares, which puts it on a par with such famous parks as Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London.

For the first time, the place where the park is now located began to be used as a hunting ground at the beginning of the 16th century. From this time it is customary to count the history of Tiergarten.

Journey into the past

In this capacity, the park existed until the end of the 17th century, until Frederick I decided to connect Charlottenburg Palace with the city. For this purpose, Unter den Linden Boulevard was expanded and the hunting grounds turned into a park, fenced off from the city by a wall.

Under King Frederick II the Great, the park began to look approximately as we see it today. The wall was demolished, and the Tiergarten became a favorite place for entertainment and leisurely walks.

Of course, transformation wild forest The transformation into a place for entertainment did not happen in one day. First, all the swamps on its territory were drained, then a general landscape solution came - the park was given the shape of a star. The center of the composition, as now, was the Big Star Square. Already existing hunting paths became park alleys. In the overall composition they are the “rays” of the star.

Now, when you visit the Tiergarten after a walk around the city, you can walk along ancient hunting trails or lie on the grass in places where horns once blew and royal hunts took place. And we.

After the park acquired its outline, it was time to decorate it. There is plenty of space for landscape creativity in the Greater Tiergarten. And the masters of landscape gardening embodied the trends that were fashionable at that time, diversifying the forest with all kinds of decorative elements. This is how baroque flower beds, cozy tea houses, esplanades and sculptures appeared.

The park's landscape was designed in English style between 1833 and 1840 under the supervision of Peter Joseph Lanne.

By the end of the 19th century, one of the main architectural decorations of the park was erected - the Victory Column monument. The memorial was erected by order of Wilhelm I, as a reminder of the numerous victories of Prussia, and is located in the very center of the “star.”

The Victory Column is an eight-meter column topped with a sculpture of the goddess of victory, Victoria. The townspeople call the goddess "Golden Elsa".

20th century in the life of Tiergarten

The new century has brought new changes to the park, many of which are associated with sad events.

The central alley connecting the park was renamed June 17 Street. The alley received this name in memory of the political strike of 1953, which took place on the territory of the GDR.

The park was expanded to its current size by Hitler, who sought to make Berlin the capital of the world.

During World War II, the park was heavily damaged. Locals They cut down almost all the trees in an attempt to warm up their homes.

The restoration of the Tiergarten began in 1949 with the symbolic planting of a lemon tree. After the destruction, the park turned out to be the very center of the renewed metropolis and its restoration began in earnest.

Sights of Tiergarten

Now the Greater Tiergarten is a favorite vacation spot for city residents and a popular attraction among tourists. Here you can relax on the shore of the park lake Neuer See, take a walk with your children, have a snack and try the excellent, and according to rumors, the best, capital beer in the local pub.


Tourists are attracted here by numerous attractions.

  • In the north of the Tiergarten is the Belew Palace. This representative of neoclassical architecture, located on the banks of the Spree, has served as the residence of the German President since 1994.
  • Not far from the palace there are famous - Triumphal Arch and the only surviving city gate in Berlin.
  • The Victory Column, which we have already talked about.
  • It is also where the body of the same name held its meetings from 1894 to 1933, and since 1999 the Bundestag has been located.
  • Museum of World Cultures
  • A monument to Soviet soldiers, which was installed in the park after the surrender of Germany.

Belew Palace

  • Adjacent to the park is another landmark of the capital -. It is believed that a record number of animal species are represented here, which is probably why the Berlin Zoo is visited by almost three million tourists every year.

  • Even under the park there is something interesting - a road tunnel.
  • In the park you can not only take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the view of various historically important objects, but also listen to the sounds of the Berlin carillon, which occupies a tower in the northeast of Tiergarten. This huge musical instrument is made of 68 bells and weighs a whopping 48 tons.

Working hours

The park is open 24 hours a day. Entrance to the park is free.

Where to stay in Berlin

Now many housing options in Berlin have appeared on the service AirBnb. We have written how to use this service. If you do not find a free hotel room, then look for accommodation through this booking site.

We lived in Hotel Adam, Charlottenburg district. I liked it for the price/quality ratio.

We offer good hotel options in Berlin

How to get there

Tiergarten has several entrances

  • Metro. By metro line U-55 Bundestag or U-55 Brandenburger Tor, U-2 Potsdamer Platz, U-9 Hansaplatz.
  • on the city train. Also to Brandenburger Tor station S-1, S-2, S-25

The Tiergarten park is located on the territory historical district Mitte at Str. des 17. Juni 31, 10785 Berlin.

Tiergarten on the map

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Tiergarten (Berlin, Germany): detailed description, address and photo. Opportunities for sports and recreation, infrastructure, cafes and restaurants in the park. Reviews from tourists.

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Hidden between a large city park and the famous Berlin Zoo, the Tiergarten, with its winding paths and wooded alleys, has long been a favorite place of recreation and entertainment for city dwellers tired of noise and a favorite attraction for numerous tourists.

With its provocative works of art and monuments, the Tiergarten is essentially the center of informal Berlin. The huge Tiergarten park, flea markets and cafes on the lake, as well as lawns, ponds, streams, walking paths and park sculpture - what is not a “cure” prescribed for the crazy pace of life?

Tiergarten Park, which occupies no less than 200 hectares, was laid out in the 16th century as a hunting ground, and in the 19th it was converted from a place for royal hunting into an English-style landscape park. Since then, the Tiergarten park has been called “ green island in the middle of Berlin."

Walking around the Tiergarten

In addition to the city park, the most important and iconic attractions for the capital of Germany are located here, including the Victory Column, Bellevue Palace, and the Reichstag. Vladimir Nabokov, a famous Russian-American writer who lived in Berlin in the 1920s, loved walks in the Berlin Zoological Garden, located in the southern part of the Tiergarten. This is the largest and deservedly one of the best zoos in the country. It is in Tiergarten that the residences of high-ranking German officials are located, and nearby is the Embassy Quarter with diplomatic missions of many countries. So, walking along the alleys of the Tiergarten, you can meet not only ordinary townspeople and, by the way, many of our compatriots, but also those whose faces you “seem to have seen somewhere,” somewhere in the “News” program, to example.

The huge Tiergarten park, flea markets and cafes on the lake, as well as lawns, ponds, streams, walking paths and park sculpture - what is not a “cure” prescribed for the crazy pace of life?

In Tiergarten you will have time to relax, “see enough”, and get gifts for friends and family and, of course, yourself. By the way, at prices that compare favorably with those that you will see in fashion boutiques, at flea markets and in Tiergarten shops, you can buy clothes, shoes, dishes, and souvenirs of such quality that those same expensive boutiques can also envy.

What to see

In the northern part of the Tiergarten park there is the building of the former congress center of the 1957 International Building Exhibition, built according to the design of American architects. Today it is officially called the House of World Cultures, and unofficially - the “pregnant oyster”, since the building stands on the shore of an artificial reservoir and is covered with a curved roof. Various exhibitions and international musical evenings are held here. And in front of the building - right in the center of the pond - there is a bronze composition “Butterfly” by British sculptor Henry Moore.

The 68 bells of the Berlin Carillon are considered the largest and heaviest. musical instrument in Europe.

Next to the “oyster” rises a 42 m tower made of black granite - the Berlin Carillon. There are 68 bells weighing 47.7 tons, driven manually or by computer and considered the largest and heaviest musical instrument of its kind in Europe. In the north-west of Tiergarten rises the 70-meter Victory Column, which is crowned with a 9-meter figure of the goddess of victory Victoria, whom Berliners call “Golden Elsa”.

We can say with confidence that you need to come to Tiergarten with a reserve of time and another battery for your camera - this is the only thing that is always missing here.